Monday, July 18, 2016

Here's to New Adventures!!! ...and coconut milk in your coffee.

OKAY!  So, this blog (much like my intense search for a hobby...) started off slow and with a very passionate attempt at starting an Etsy shop and selling printed t-shirts!  I had my big amazing idea of Hay ____ shirts (think: Hay Mom, Hay Girl, Hay Dude...) and while I did sell one, I still have a stack of them at home and will probably either end up cutting them into t-shirt yarn or giving them away to friends over the next few years!  :)  Either way, it's totally okay!  

I have had a pretty weird obsession with yarn for years, but have never been able to do any kind of fiber art!  My Nanny (loooove you!) taught me to crochet a chain probably 20 years ago, but that's about as far as that went!  She crochets like a machine and I couldn't for-the-life-of-me wrap my mind around turning and crocheting into the loop!  While that didn't pan out, I never gave up the dream of learning it!  Therefore, I've bought yarn like a pro for several years!  

When I was pregnant, I even bought a Learn-to-Crochet set that came with everything I needed to get going!  Of that experience, I only have this say:  Please do not ever attempt to learn anything whilst preggo.  Just.  Don't.  I also had a terribly fancy and fuzzy yarn, which now I realize was more than likely the issue!  But I cried a lot and it really was not a good time.  

Anywho, I laid that to rest and raised by son for nearly two years before crossing paths with fiber art again!  This time it was in the form of ARM KNITTING!  OH EM GEE, y'all.  I love arm knitting!  But holy cow, who has the money to throw at that?!  I just cannot justify 18 skeins of chunky yarn for one small blanket!  I made two blankets... one needs frogged because it's totes wrong, but it actually looks cool draped over a chair, and the second I made for my adorable Gran (I missssss you!) while she was in hospice care.  Now like I mentioned, 18 skeins of yarn.  So I went with something pretty affordable ($3/ea) but it was entirely too heavy for the project, since arm knitting tends to end up pretty loose.  The blanket was gorgeous, but heavy and not terribly user-friendly.  Way too much drape.  A nice, lightweight chunky wool would be your best bet.  But at that price, buying a nice blanket would be another option.  :)  

At this point I had a pretty good idea of how to work with yarn and the in's and out's of the movements, albeit on a massive scale!  I decided to take on regular, everyday knitting!  I made a "koozie" for my favorite coffee cup (which I got here!) and I started a dishrag!  "Started" being the key word... sure I was on the hunt for an awesome hobby, but I seriously have NO time for one!  Between working, momming, wifing, and farming, I have like 30 minutes of free-time a day and this is when I have to bathe!  I figured out super quick, and after three or four nights of knitting while I could, that this was going to take WAY too long.  

So out comes the Learn-to-Crochet set!  Still having serious trouble learning from the book, I decided to do what we millennials (I think I'm a millennial?) do best, and Google it!  After spending my lunch break watching YouTube videos, with no yarn in sight, I felt confident I could do a chain and a single crochet!  I could not WAIT for Ikey to go to sleep that night, and when he did, I grabbed a ball of Peaches & Creme in Rosemary and got to work on my new dish rag!  Was it perfect?  Nope.  Was it even a square?  Honestly, not really.  But was I in love?!  TOTALLY.  My tension was all over the place, but I've since figured out how to hold my yarn, which has seriously improved that problem, and I made a basket for Ikey's room, I have a shrug in process, and started a puff stitch beanie for Ikey last night in this dreamy bamboo mix yarn that seriously feels like clouds!  I can't think of the name, but I'll post a picture of the finished project and a link to the yarn!  

Seriously, though, Crochet, y'all.  For reals.  It's quick, easy to put down, easy to pick back up, quiet, it travels well, it's extremely versatile, and amazingly gorgeous!!!  I could NOT be more excited!  I finally found a way to make pretty things that's fun, simple, and fits into my mom-schedule beautifully!  I hope to be able to share my projects, mistakes, tips and tricks, and life through words and photos on this little blog!  

OH!  And coconut oil in your coffee.  You'll thank me later.  
**UPDATE**: Do NOT put coconut oil in your coffee if you have acne prone skin.  OMG.





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